The Mohawk Council of f Kahnawà:ke wishes to remind the public that the community will be observing Friday’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a time of reflection to honor the memory of the victims lost and those affected by the Residential School system.
This federal statutory holiday was observed for the first time on Thursday, September 30th, 2021. All offices and organizations in f Kahnawà:ke will be closed this Friday, which is now considered a statutory holiday within our community.
Concurrently, September 30th is also “Orange Shirt Day,” held since 2013 to honor the thousands of Indigenous children who were taken to residential schools – with many never returning home.
“This is a day for us to reflect and remember,” said Ohén:ton Í:iente ne Ratitsénhaienhs (Grand Chief) Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer. “With a day set aside to specifically honor the victims and survivors, Canada has taken a positive step in the long road to reconciliation.”
“We sincerely hope that Canadians will take time on Friday to reflect on the historical realities that have been the root cause to many of the issues and difficulties that Indigenous people continue to experience to the present day,” added Ratsénhaienhs Harry Rice, whose father was a Residential School survivor.
The creation of National Day of Truth and Reconciliation will, hopefully, create an atmosphere of understanding and cooperation that will allow all of us – Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike – to rebuild the trust and respect that has been lost through laws, policies and events that none of us here today had a part in creating. We owe it to those lost children to do better.
